Damage from winds in eastern Idaho

A day after gusty winds blew through the area, eastern Idahoans are still cleaning up.

“I heard it, but it actually sounded like my patio furniture moving, so I didn’t see it, but my step-dad looked out the window and said we have a new trampoline,” said ISU student Taylor Burgess.

Wind blowing in the upper 60s Monday caused trees to fall down, power to be out and roads closed. Burgess was home Monday evening when she felt her house shaking, luckily her step-dad used a tractor to hold down the neighbor’s trampoline. She says the trampoline wasn’t anchored, so when the winds picked up it flew through the air. One of many in Idaho Falls that toppled over.

“We wanted to make sure it didn’t take out our padded fence which is pretty weak. We didn’t want it to run into the field and destroy that house down there,” said Burgess. But, Burgess is now worried about siding on her home after the strong winds caused damage.

“This is basically what it is, a giant piece of metal, and it almost hit us,” she said.

Blowing debris and downed trees also worried city officials. They closed three golf courses and the zoo. Assistant Superintendant Don of the Pinecrest golf course said over the past two years 11 trees have fallen.On Monday, only one fell.

“We got branches and we have areas across the whole golf course, it’s going to be a two-day process to get it all picked up,” he said.

No injuries have been reported from those windy conditions. The winds were also blamed for power outages in Idaho Falls and Ammon. Sections of Interstate 15 and three state highways were closed due to low visibility.